Glass-casting table



Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I we A /V/./

W. J. GDLIGHTLY. GLASS CASTING TABLE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, I9l9.

FIELE.

W. I. GOLIGHTLY GLASS CASTING TABLE. APPLlCATlON FILED APR. 8. 19:9.

Patented Jan. 25,1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

' INVENTOR 35 heat condition ofthe table.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE... 7

WILLIAM J. GOLIGHILY, OF KOKOMO INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO PITTSBURGH PLATEGLASS COMPANY, A CQRPORATION' OF PEN NSYLVANIA.

GLASS-CASTING TABLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

10 use in the making of plate glass, and has for its principal objectthe provision of an improved construction for keeping the surface of thetable flat throughout the continued use of the table so that the glasssheets cast upon the tables will be of substantially uniform thickness.

The ordinary casting table gradually bows up from the edges to thecenter the table gets hotter and hotter from repeated castingoperations, and as a result the glass sheets which are formed on thetable by teeming the molten glass thereon and spreading it out by aroller, are thinner at the center than at the edges. It has beenattempted to remedy this diiiiculty by placing shims or wedges under thecorners of the table so that the weight of the table is borne at thesepoints and such weight tends to cause the table to sag at the center,thus counteracting to a certain extent, the bowing up tendency.

However, in the use of this expedient there has been a tendency oi thetable to sag unequally, and there were no means for adjusting the amountof sag to the varying The present construction is designed to eliminatethe tendency of the table to bend or sag unequally and to provide ameans for keeping the table flat from thetime it arrives at such adegree of heat that it tends to start bowing until a maximum temperatureis reached.

Briefly stated these results are achieved by employingadjusting screwsat the corners of the table and having these screws engage transversestiffening bars so that any tendency to sag when the screws are adjustedto take the weight of the table is distributed equally across the widththereof. The adjustment of the screws is started when the 59 tablereaches a temperature such that it would otherwise begin to bow up, andthis adjustment is continued until the table reaches a maximum degree ofheat. One

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

Serial No. 288,610.

embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of the table; Fig. 2 is a section on theline IIII of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged section at one end of thetable on the line IL-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 4: is an enlarged side elevationof one end of the table, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the table.

The table itself may be of any approved type and comprises a series oflongitudinally extending sections 1, secured together by transverse tierods 2. This table is mounted upon transverse foundation plates 3. 4 and5, which are in turn mounted upon a base 6 of concrete or other suitablematerial. At the leer end of the table the plate 3 and table are heldagainst relative longitudinal movement by means of the key 7, whichextends from one side of the table to the other. indicated in. Fig. 2.At the other end of the table, a transverse bar 8 tends from one side ofthe table to the other. but is seated entirely in the foundation plate5, so that its upper surface is flush with the upper surface of thefoundation plate, thus permitting the end of the table to move over theplate as the length of the table changes by reason of temperatureconditions. I

Mounted upon the ends of the foundation plates are the'bloclrs 9, suchblocks being rigidly secured to the inundation plates by any suitablemeans, such as the stud bolts 10. Extending throu h these blocks 9 arethe set screws 11. '1 ese set screws engage the ends of the key 7 andbar 8 and constitute a means whereby an adjusting force may be applied,tending to lift the corners of the table upward.

The adjusting screws do not come into play until the casting operationhas been under way for several hours, as it takes the table aconsiderable time to heat up sufficiently to cause a noticeable bowingthereof. The adjustment of the screws is then made gradually, a fractionof a turn at a time, so that as the tendency of the table to bow up atthe center increases, more and more force is applied by the screws,tending to support the table at its side edges and thus producing atendency of the table to sag intermediate its edges and thuscounteracting the bowing tendency. The table finally arrives at amaximum heat, after which no further adjustment of the screws isnecessary, and at such time the screws will have'been adj ust-ed such adistance as to produce a sag of perhaps one sixteenth of an inch if thetable had not been heated. At such time, however, the upper surface ofthe table will lie in a horizontal plane, due to the fact thatthetendency to sag is counteracted by the bowing tendency incident to theexpansion of the table resulting from its increased temperature. 7

The application of the lifting force of the screws to the bars 7 and 8instead of di rectly to the side sections of the table, is advantageousin that the tendency to sag is thus distributed throughout the entirewidth 'of the table instead of the major part of the sagging occurringat the side edges of the table, as would be the case if the bars 7 and 8were not employed and the screws were applied directly to the sidesections.

The sections of the table are securely bolted together by means of thetie rods 2, but. such securing means are not suliiclent to over- 7 comethe tendency to unequal sagging, such 7 as would occur without thetransverse bars 7 and 8. V 7

it. will be understood that the invention is not limited to theparticular table shown, which is preferably water cooled, as indicatedby'the passages 13, and which overhangs the foundation plates 3, 4 and 53), but that the invention is applicable to tables which are not watercooled and to tables which do not overhang the foundactionpl'ates, onlyslight changes in construc- 'itable, and adjusting means at the ends ofsaid bars for applying force thereto, tending to lift the table.

2. In combination, a plate glass casting table, foundation platesextending transversely of the table at the ends thereof, transverse barson the upper sides of the plates, and screw adjusting means at the endsof said plates for applying force upwardly to said bars.

3. In combination, a plate glass casting table, foundation platesextending transversely of the table at the ends thereof, transverse barson the upper sides of the plates, and screw adjusting means atthe endsof said plates for applying force upwardly to said bars, one of saidbars being seated in both the plate and table and serving to maintainthe table against movement at such point. r

a. In combination, a' plate glass casting table, foundation plates.extending transversely of the table at the ends thereof, transverse barson the upper sides of the plates, and screw adjusting means at the endsof saidplatesfor applying force upwardly to said bars, one of said barsbeing seated in one of the plates so that its upper surface is flushwith the upper surfaceo-f such plate. r p

5. In combination, a plate. glass casting table, foundation platesextending transversely of' the table at the ends thereof, transversebars on. theupper sides of the plates, and screw adjusting means at theends of said plates for applying force upwardly to said bars, one ofsaid bars being seated in both its plate and the table so as to act as akey, and the other bar being seated in its, plate so thatits. uppersurface is flush with the upper surface of such plate.

In combination, a plate glass casting table made up of a plurality oflongitudinal sections secured together, foundation means th refer,transverse bars, between the foundation meansand the table and means atthe ends of the bars for adjusting said ends upwardly.

In testimony whereof, I have; hereunto subscribed my name this 2d day ofApril,

1919. r r c a A WILLIAMJ. GGLIGHTLY.

